Seven Months of Hell
by K.haosprinz
Summary: Dante sure had expected something different than an unending onslaught of demons when he had chosen to go deeper into hell. He was getting tired. Post!DMC2 with some pre!DMC2 explanations about DMC2!Dante. Same universe as my other story "Relations".
1. Chapter 1

Dante was tired of fighting, something he had never, _ever_ thought possible. Here he was now, though, deep in literal hell and fighting was all he did- could do. He didn't know for how long he had been here now, fighting, wandering and more fighting. _Ivory_ was all he had left at this point. The motorcycle he had come here with long since abandoned when it had been necessary for him to make a quick escape that hadn't left him any time to start it up. His beloved sword _Rebellion_ , the keepsake of his father, had been knocked out of his hand and there had been simply too many enemies to even take the second to call it. He hadn't even realised they were pushing him away from the place where he had been fighting them, only noticing the unknown environment when the last demon had fallen, and at that point he was too far away for _Rebellion_ to heed his call. He had gone searching for it, flicking his wrist every other time in hopes of hearing the familiar noise of it wheezing through the air on its return to him, but it was all in vain. Too soon the next wave, army of demons had found him and forced him to abandon his effort. _Ebony_ had been lost during a huge explosion that had caught him off guard, knocking him through the air and his precious gun away from him. He watched in horror as it fell down a cliff, causing flickers of a memory from over twenty years ago to pass through his mind.

Clutching _Ivory_ tightly in his hands, Dante heaved a breath. He was tired, so very tired. This wasn't at all what he had expected when he had decided to enter the deepest pits of hell. He thought he had seen it all, and he took a moment to curse at the overbearing arrogance he just couldn't let go of. All because he had been careless, overconfident, and his family had paid the price. He could still see the scene unfolding in front of his inner eye- Him, Nero, Trish and Lady fighting. He was mocking their enemy, they all were because they had grown too confident over the years. In his carelessness, he had been hurt, which had first surprised him, then awakened his anger. He had triggered, but it had felt different from usual. He had barely been in control of his movements, demonic instincts having taken over, and the next thing he remembered clearly was finding himself alone surrounded by a mountainside of dead demons. No sight of any of his friends. Horror had crept through him and tried to overwhelm him, but he had forced it down and the gears in his head only took seconds to launch into all the action they could offer. For weeks, _months_ he had been trying to find them, setting everything into action and recalling every favour he was owed in order to learn their whereabouts. But nothing, _nothing_.

And that's when he had been called by the clan of the _Vie de Marli_. His first instinct was to refuse, he didn't have time to waste on some faraway island. He kept telling himself there was still a chance to find them alive and well, and he clung to it with every fibre of his being, no matter how this hated part of his head told him that they were gone for three months now. That the chance of finding them still alive and kicking had dwindled to almost nothing as time passed.

But then he had heard the name of the demon that this crazy business man wanted to summon- Argosax. He still remembered the stories about him, how he dwelled in one of the deepest parts of hell, and Dante had made his decision. If he couldn't find them in the human world, they must have been taken to hell, and he would turn it upside down in his search for them. He would keep on searching until he had either found them or the dreaded confirmation of their demise. Lady worried him most. She was the only human in their little group of friends with a bond that was forged through battles and bloodshed over the course of years. He had started to notice a few years back that her movements weren't as sharp and precise as they used to be. Age was catching up to her, and the realisation had hit him in the face stronger than the humongous statue of a _Saviour_ ever could. She was 41 now- or maybe 42, he didn't know for how long he had been in this literal hell now- and he knew that she would have to retire sooner rather than later. But he also knew that she never would. It scared him.

He recalled his journey on his way to battle Arius. The closer he got, the more thrill he had felt in the prospect of finally doing some progress in his quest. At least that what he had kept telling himself. He made it a point not to ever take any of his enemies too lightly again, considering it was the reason his life had become such a mess in the span of a few hours, the cause of things happening that he had never thought possible.

But here he was now. Leaning against a deformed rock of some kind, tired of fighting hoards of demons day in, day out, with nothing left but _Ivory_. He didn't want to give up, it went against everything in his nature, but... _he was so tired_. He could already hear the next wave of demons coming and his eyes briefly took in the tattered mess that had once been his coat. _I must look like I feel_ , he thought to himself while clutching _Ivory_ and standing straight. No, giving up wasn't an option. He would either get out of this again or die trying. He took a step away from the stonewall and prepared himself for the onslaught.

Only a few seconds later Dante could see the first demons approaching him. More followed, more and more, until he was faced with another ocean of devils attempting to drown him. He raised _Ivory_ , aimed, and started the massacre. The first demons were already disintegrating long before they reached him, but it was the same as always- for each one he killed, two more seemed to appear. He quickly rolled out of the way when a few Sloths materialised out of thin air next to him, their scythes impaling the ground where he had been standing a split second ago. They were dispatched of with a few precise shots and without missing a beat, he returned his attention back to the army ready to pounce on him. His jaw clenched in a grim smile as Puias started to descend on him, their sheer mass casting a shadow over his surroundings. His fist connected hard enough with one of them to knock it back into its brethren, never once stopping _Ivory_ 's rapid fire into the mass of demons. There was no need for him to pay too much attention, there were enough enemies to ensure that every single bullet would hit a body part, no matter where he shot. He felt a prickling sensation in the back of his neck and was just in time to dodge the huge pair of scissors emerging from the wall. He used his momentum to run the surface up a few metres before jumping off it, firing off round after round at the demons below him before safely landing on the Sin Scissors' head, disintegrating it. He reached for one part of the broken scissors before it could vanish, blocked incoming projectiles with it and finally threw it into the awaiting mass of devils with enough force to cut the first few targets cleanly in half.

His eyes quickly scanned the area for any Wraths. They were both dangerous and incredibly useful in this environment. The sound of battle and demons was too loud to make out any particular noises. More than once had he been forced to make a quick, sloppy escape or take a few blows because a Wrath had managed to make its way over to him without being noticed before exploding right in his back. But if he found them early enough, they were an amazing help in dispatching big chunks of the demon mass. There was one, the tell-tale mass on their backs pulsating, slowly making its way over to him. Dante leapt high into the air and jumped off a Soul Eater that had attempted to sneak up on him from behind, kicking it right into a scythe in the process. He aimed at the Wrath and fired a few shots until it blew up, taking all the demons with it within a ten feet radius. He saw a Frost coming straight at him, icy blade aimed at his chest, but before it could impale him, Dante grabbed it by the head and hurled it with all his force into the devils below. He landed on the ground again, immediately ducking to avoid the demon's attacks and kept firing.

Dante kept fighting for what felt like hours, even if he didn't know for sure. Maybe it was really just minutes, or maybe it was days. There was no way for him to tell. There were finally fewer demons around. It didn't look like an endless ocean anymore, no new devils taking the place of their fallen brethren. He felt a sharp pain in his right arm and his grip on _Ivory_ faltered for a second. A quick look revealed that an Enigma's red arrow had embedded itself in his flesh, and with a growl, he kept firing despite the pain. He just ripped the arrow out of his arm and threw it back at the statue that had managed to hit him, watching in grim satisfaction as it shattered into pieces, the larger chunks knocking other demons off balance as they were hit. But his moment of triumph was short-lived as an Assault dived at him from behind. He blocked the lizard's blade with his gun before delivering a kick hard enough to shatter its shield and throwing it back a few feet. He was panting and his body was short from simply giving out, but he refused to give in now. Not when this wave was almost finished and he would have time to rest and search and wander afterwards. Not much time, granted, but enough to gather the strength necessary to survive the next attack.

While he was focussed on shooting the Assault down, its thick skin withstanding _Ivory_ 's bullets, he failed to see a Mephisto emerging from the ground in complete silence. He was too exhausted to notice it regarding him for a second before sticking out a single, claw-like finger.

He hissed in pain as the elongated nail pierced his shoulder and Dante had to stop himself from whirling around. Without turning, he aimed behind him and fired blindly- one of the bullets had to hit their goal. He heard the signature shriek that the Mephisto had indeed been wounded, but apparently the demons were smarter than he gave them credit for- or he was simply too exhausted to prevent it from happening- because they noticed his moment of weakness and immediately jumped into action. Before the spear in his shoulder had completely vanished, more pain erupted in his chest and stomach. Looking down he saw a multitude of red and blue arrows protruding from his torso and he felt his knees giving in. Even though he could feel his strength leaving him, he ripped them out of his flesh, one after another, and hurled them back at the descending demon hoard. He had gotten so far, had managed to survive until this point, there was absolutely _no chance_ that he'd die at the hand of some low demons like those! Forcing himself to stand upright again, he unleashed his inner devil, sending his attackers flying with a shockwave. He hated using the form that had caused all this mess, even if he had his instincts under control now, but it didn't feel as though he had a choice right now.

He charged into the demons, the red, glowing swords on his forearms slicing through hide and flesh like it was butter. Swords and arrows simply bounced off his skin, unable to penetrate his armour while he unleashed his fury in a macabre dance of death among the devils. This form was powerful, much more powerful than he remembered his father's having been back on Mallet Island fifteen years ago, but it was all the more taxing. It put a great strain on the human half of his body, and all too soon he felt it wearing off again. A small part inside of him sighed in relief when the power went dormant again, but a bigger part realised the excruciatingly bad timing when he saw the blade aiming at his chest but he was unable to move.

Pain exploded in his ribcage and for a short moment, a black veil obscured his vision. He blindly shot at the demon who was wielding the weapon that was pinning him to the ground, but his arm was trembling, causing the bullets to miss their target. Dante tried to breathe through the blood filling his lungs, tried ignoring the agony in his chest to keep fighting, but the demons were closing in on him. Still unwilling to give in, he simply ripped the blade out of his chest, even if it took more effort on his side than it should have. He threw it at his enemies in a way that made it bounce off them, hitting the others surrounding him and giving him a brief moment of air. He struggled to sit up, coughing up blood and had to close his eyes in order to get them back into focus. When he opened them again, he was surrounded once more. Clutching _Ivory_ tightly in his hand he started firing. Over his own wheezing breath, _Ivory_ 's firing and the screams and shouts of the devils dying, he failed to hear the sound of an engine approaching. And even if he did, he would have thought it to be an illusion, a hallucination caused by blood loss, exertion and the slow descent into madness he was almost sure was slowly enveloping him.

Then suddenly, a lot of things happened too fast for his tired mind to pick up on. The sound of the engine had gotten louder, loud enough to make him wonder about it briefly, but before he was able to make something out of it, the sound of screeching brakes tore through the air and something slammed forcefully onto the ground next to him. He felt the demonic energy of a shockwave washing over him without hurting him, and Dante was confused. Dust was obscuring his vision, so instead he tried to hear what was going on around him. He couldn't hear anything but the breathing of another person, but that was impossible. Demons didn't breathe like that, it almost sounded like another human-

"I finally found you, man. This sure is some mess you've gotten yourself into."

The dust finally started to settle around him and Dante could make out a familiar shape he had hoped to see again, but deep down not been expecting to anymore. He saw Nero rising from his crouch on the ground to stand in front of him, _Red Queen_ in his left hand and his right, demonic arm glowing brightly. _Ebony_ and _Blue Rose_ attached to his belt and _Rebellion_ fastened to his back.


	2. Chapter 2

Dante couldn't believe what he was seeing. Nero was here, he wasn't dead, he was _here_. He was alive and kicking and had just saved his arse. He had followed him into hell to get him out of there after Dante had originally gone here in search for the younger. _He was alive_.

Immense relief washed through him and he almost felt like weeping. His knees gave in as he gave a shaky smile, but before he could hit the ground, Nero rushed over to catch him.

"Come on, old man. You have no idea how long I've been searching for you."

 _Same here_ , shot through Dante's head and he had to fight laughter bubbling up in his still hurting chest. Slumping over he took a shuddering breath, fully aware of the fact that it was only Nero who was keeping him upright.

"Man, you look like a train ran you over more than once. Come on, let's get out of here."

Dante felt himself being pulled up and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't find the energy in him anymore to move his body by himself. Nero put one of his arms around his neck, his own _Devil Bringer_ tightly gripping Dante's waist to slowly lead him over to the motorcycle. The older hunter's mind was in a haze and all he wanted was to sleep. Now that he knew he was in good hands, his mind stopped being constantly on edge, and all the exhaustion that had built up in the recent- weeks? months?- but had been suppressed emerged like a wave, crashing into his brain and putting it almost to a halt. There was something on his mind, something urgent, but everything in his head was too fuzzy for him to grasp. What was it again? He was so glad Nero was here and alive. If Nero was alive, maybe Trish and Lady-

He bolted upright, his eyes widening in almost madness. With a sudden surge of strength, he tightly gripped onto Nero's collar, staring into the other's dark blue eyes intently.

"What about Trish? And Lady? What happened to you? What-"

"Later, Dante, first we-"

"No! What about them? How's Trish?"

"She's fine! She's currently keeping the gate I came through in stasis, so we can get-"

"And Lady? What about Lady?"

"She's- alive."

In any other situation, Dante would have noticed Nero's slight hesitation. But as it were, he didn't and instead kept pressing forward.

"They're both-?"

Nero carefully reached out and loosened the death grip the other had on his shirt. Holding onto his wrists in fright that he might keel over without any support, he repeated in a soft, hopefully reassuring tone what he had said before.

"They're alive, Dante. They're alive. We're going back to them, okay? We're returning to the _Devil May Cry_ , all four of us."

He held Dante's almost manic gaze and felt sorrow creeping its way into his stomach. Dante had been in this place for four months and he didn't know what it had done to him. After a few seconds, Dante finally seemed to believe him and just slumped over, all energy having left his body. Nero caught him, the elder's head resting on his shoulder, arms hanging limply at his side. With a sigh, he carefully cradled his relative, encircled his waist with his arms and closed his eyes.

 _How did it come to this?_ , he wondered. He could barely remember what exactly had happened on that fateful day. He only remembered being shocked when Dante had suddenly triggered, looking completely different normally. And behaving differently, too. He just tore through the demons with the blades on his arms, none of the usual mocking and joking, only feral grunts and snarls coming from deep within his chest. Trish and Lady had been shocked as well, neither of them knew what it was, but that was their mistake. The demons, void of human emotions and mannerisms like freezing into place due to surprise, had ganged up on them. He only remembered sharp pain throughout his whole body before darkness had taken him in. The next thing he knew was awakening in a weird place somewhere in the demonic realm, put into chains just as Lady and Trish. The demons had been smart enough to take their weapons, so any kind of breaking out had to wait until his and Trish's demonic blood had helped them recover enough to rely on their personal strength alone.

Lady... was another story. As a human, the demon's treatment had taken a whole different toll on her. But she was still alive. As soon as he and Trish had rested enough, they were able to break out, beat all the demons that had captured them into one bloody pulp and make their way out of there. They had stumbled upon their weapons at some point which had made the job a lot easier. For a while they were just walking around aimlessly, not knowing where they were or where the next portal could be until they had finally found a place that Trish was familiar with. Then it was just a matter of time until they could return. They took turns searching for everything they needed to open up a portal, unwilling to let Lady alone in this place, in her condition. It had taken a while, but they had finally been able to escape. The gate, however, had let them out in the middle of nowhere, so it had actually taken another two weeks until they had finally reached civilisation. Three more weeks were wasted when Lady was finally admitted to a hospital somewhere in Russia to get patched up as much as possible, and another two with their journey back to the _Devil May Cry_. They had tried calling Dante, but to no avail. While Trish was escorting Lady back to her own flat, Nero made his way to the shop. After a short fight with the red-haired woman- Lucia?- he found out that she had been the one to assign Dante's last mission. He learned from her what happened, and after finding out that they had been gone for almost five months and Dante apparently been trapped in hell for over three, Nero felt dread rising in his stomach that he hadn't felt ever before.

He was calling the _Devil May Cry_ his home for over eight years now. He couldn't even imagine the place staying strong without Dante around. Hell, he couldn't even imagine a life anymore without the older slayer. They still didn't know how exactly they were related and had agreed on never wanting to find out, but they were family nonetheless. Trish and Lady, too. So as soon as Lucia had briefed him on everything he needed to know, he had called the female demon up and told her what happened. She hadn't even hesitated to meet with him so he could go and get their friend back, and even Lady had insisted on coming along, despite their protests. Even if she was handicapped now, she could still cover their backs with her guns from a safe distance, and so they went and opened a gate to hell. Nero had gone in, while Trish was now keeping it up, but closed, so no demons could emerge, with Lady waiting at her side for the two of them.

For a while, Nero had just been wandering around, going deeper and deeper until he reached a point that matched Lucia's description, and from then on it was only a matter of following the path of destruction that Dante had left behind in his battles. He grew more and more restless the further in he went, which ultimately morphed into worry and dread when he found the other's bike and weapons scattered throughout the demon realm. Determined to not leave them behind, he had dutifully picked them up but never used them to kill the stray demons he stumbled upon on his journey. And so he drove from battlefield to battlefield until he spotted a huge mass of demons gathering at the same spot, and with one glance to his faintly glowing _Devil Bringer_ , he was sure he had finally found Dante.

He opened his eyes again, the familiar weight still resting in his arms. They needed to get out of here, and fast. He wasn't sure how much time passed between each of the waves, but he sure as hell wasn't going to take any more chances than absolutely necessary. Picking the older hunter carefully up, he made his way over to the bike before setting him down on it. Keeping him steady with one arm, he carefully strapped both their weapons, apart from _Blue Rose_ which he kept attached to his belt, on Dante's back. He didn't even stir. He just sat there, chin touching his chest and messy and dirty hair falling into his closed eyes. With a sigh, Nero sat on the machine in front of the other half-devil and shuffled a bit until he was leaning forward with Dante's heavy weight resting almost comfortingly against his back. He snaked his relative's arms around his own waist so he wouldn't fall off as easily. Kicking the bike into motion, he held onto the other with one hand, steering the motorcycle with his _Devil Bringer_ alone. Now they just had to get back to the portal.

Some time later, Dante slowly awoke from his unconscious slumber. He was wondering where he was, his mind not able to grasp why he was moving and why there seemed to be a body in front of him. He carefully blinked himself back into reality and needed a moment to understand what was happening. The first thing his eyes saw was white hair, much like his own, and a shoulder covered by a dark blue, almost purple coat. It took a moment until his body was back in action, feeling oddly refreshed until he realised what situation he was in.

Nero had found him, and apparently put him on the motorcycle he had originally gone to hell with in order to get them out of it again. He felt his upper body leaning heavily on the younger's back, the warmth seeping through his tattered clothes was surprisingly welcoming. He shifted a little to get more comfortable before noticing that his arms were encircling the younger's waist, wrists tightly held onto by another hand. His moving about, however, had drawn Nero's attention to his awakened state. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and shot Dante a brief smile when his eyes were met with greyish-blue and thankfully much more lively than before ones.

"Hey. Good to see you're up again, man. You scared me there a little", he said over the noise of the engine. Dante couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle.

"I would say I'm sorry, but you probably scared me a lot more when you just disappeared."

Nero hummed in agreement, "Yeah, I guess so... But it really is good that you're awake again. There's a hoard of demons right on the way to the portal I used, and I almost feared I'd have to take the longer way around to avoid them. I can't exactly do much with you on my back and only one hand."

Dante straightened up, carrying his own weight now, even if his arms never left the other's waist. He looked around, and indeed, several hundred metres in front of them a big nest of demons was waiting for them. They were probably drawn to the gate Nero had mentioned. He reached for _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ , briefly relishing their familiar weight in his hands.

"You can let go of me and use that hand for more useful stuff than keeping me on your back now, Nero. I'll be fine. What do you say, think we can just break through?"

He was awarded the familiar smirk he hadn't seen in too long and Dante couldn't help but grin back. He felt another wave of relief and thankfulness? washing over him at the sight of his young relative alive and kicking.

"Sure thing. You'll need to clear our path a bit, though, then I'll push this baby as much as I can."

Dante shifted on his seat so he could keep his balance by pressing his legs against the machine and Nero's thighs. He lifted his arms, resting them on the other's shoulders while aiming straight ahead at the demons they were now directly heading for. He saw the other bringing his other hand to the handle of the bike, revving it up.

"And here we go!"

With a sudden jolt, they sped up considerably and Dante had to increase the pressure of his thighs on the machine to keep his balance. They had drawn the demon's attention, but he didn't give them more than a second before he pulled the triggers on his beloved twin guns again and again. The devils were falling one after another, clearing out a path for them straight through their middle. Nero leant forward in his effort to channel as much of his demonic energy into the bike as it could withstand to make it go even faster. Blue lightning emerged from his hands and slowly covered first the handle, then the rest of the motorcycle and only seconds later the glass on the speedometer shattered as the pointer was far exceeding the numbers written.

They didn't even feel the impact as they ran the first poor demon over that had decided to get into their way. The howling of the engine, the crackling lightning and the repeated gunshots drowned out all other noises. It took less than a minute to break through the mass of demons, but Nero didn't let go and kept pushing the bike. After putting his guns away, Dante resumed his grip around the other's waist, leaning forward as well so the wind wouldn't whip into his face as much. He rested his cheek against the other's shoulder, feeling the ends of white hair brushing against his face. He was tired again, the rush of adrenaline having worn off again and leaving exhausted emptiness behind. He stared tiredly ahead but couldn't help the pure joy surging through his entire being as he could see the signs of a gate ahead in the distance. He closed his eyes and his tightened his grip, and even though Nero didn't take his eyes off the path ahead for even a split second, he flashed a brief smile when he felt the comforting, warm weight settling against his frame once more. Felt the slow, but strong and heavy heartbeat through the layers of clothing.

"Yep, we're almost home."


	3. Chapter 3

Nero only slowed down when they approached the gate, his death grip on the handles of the bike gradually loosening and the demonic energy he had sent into it dissolving. The portal was still almost closed and frozen, not allowing them to go through, which meant that Trish hadn't noticed their arrival yet. He briefly wondered for how long he had been here now. Time flowed differently in the demonic realm, so he had no chance of making any assumption that could be considered even vaguely accurate. He slowly came to a stop and put one of his feet on the ground to keep his balance, a few feet away from the gate. He threw a careful look over his shoulder, observing the relaxed features of his companion and found that he had fallen asleep again. Worry gnawed at him once more. Right now, Dante seemed a bit like a loony... but Nero was pretty sure that was only temporary. As soon as they were back in the human world, back in the _Devil May Cry_ , back _home_ , Dante would be able to recover from this ordeal. He could only imagine the strain this whole 'adventure' had put on the elder's mind and soul.

Nero noticed a movement in the corners of his eyes and carefully turned to see what had caught his attention. A bunch of demons, maybe a couple dozen, were making their way over to them. With a sigh, Nero's gaze flickered back to the portal that still gave no signs of opening anytime soon. Closing his eyes in a brief moment of consideration, Nero carefully loosened the grip around his waist and climbed off the bike, trying his best not to wake the older hunter. He positioned him in a slightly awkward way against the handles to keep him balanced before taking _Red Queen_ off the other's back and making his way over to the demons that were slowly, almost curiously approaching them. He scanned the remaining directions quickly and found that no other devils were coming near.

He broke into a sprint, determined to let the fighting happen as far away from Dante as possible. As soon as he felt that he was far enough away to use _Blue Rose_ , he pulled his beloved revolver out of her holster at his hip and aimed at the first demon. Nero felt a twisted kind of satisfaction rising within him as he watched the demon explode, splattering its green, slimy insides over its brethren. He shot a few more of them until they were close enough to cause him to stop. The young hunter stood still for a second, regarding his enemies that seemed to be observing him in turn, before he slowly pulled _Red Queen_ off his back. He stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground, revving it up before addressing the beings in front of him.

"So, you're the fuckers that did that to him, huh?"

His voice was cold and hard as steel. He let his icy eyes take in every single demon opposing him.

"Well then, let me show you what I think of that, you little shits."

With that, he ripped _Red Queen_ out of the ground and pounced on the first demon, cleanly slicing it in half with his flaming sword. He punched one of the burning parts into the rest of the demons, causing some of them to burst into flames and scattering them in their panic. With every shriek and cry of a dying devil, Nero felt a perverse, convoluted mixture of wrath and satisfaction pumping through his veins, cheering him on, causing him to hit faster, harder, _deadlier_. He grabbed a charging Abyss with the spectral version of his demonic arm and slammed it into the ground before kicking it with all his might into the mass of devils approaching him. It exploded into a sea of blood upon impact, painting the surrounding enemies in a coat of red. Nero felt his blood boiling hotter and hotter as he fought the beasts, and as soon as the remaining half had him surrounded, his lips contorted into a grotesque version of a predatory smirk. With a shout he unleashed his inner devil, knocking the demons off their feet and almost thrived at the sound of _Yamato_ cutting through flesh, bone and armour alike. Being a devil hunter had never felt _so good_ before.

It wasn't long until all the demons but one were disposed of. He looked at the crouching Blade before him his as it bared its teeth, hissing at him, clearly intimidated by the bloodlust he displayed. It almost tried to scramble away, but Nero created one of his blue, spectral swords right above it. He let it drop down, and the Blade screeched as it pierced its torso and pinned it to the ground. Green-yellowish blood oozed out of the wound as the lizard was writhing on the floor. The hunter stood right in front of him, slowly lifting _Blue Rose_ and aiming the two barrels right between the demon's eyes. His own were glaring down at it in a dangerous red, his distorted voice echoing and the spectral being behind him standing tall and menacingly.

"That's what you get for messing with us- with _him_."

And then he pulled the trigger.

Feeling oddly content, Nero detriggered and cleaned the blood and gore off his sword before putting it back on his back. He almost felt like whistling as he made his way back to Dante, who was still sleeping peacefully, albeit weirdly positioned on the motorcycle. His gentle movements as he sat back down in front of his friend and relative were a stark contrast to the massacre he had just caused and thoroughly enjoyed, but that didn't matter to him. Now that he had found Dante, he wanted to make everything and everyone pay for what they had done to them. On Trish and Lady's behalf, too. After 17 years of being an orphan and having been forced to leave the small thing that almost resembled a family behind in Fortuna, he had finally found one for himself. He was not going to sit by and idly watch it being harmed.

Nero made himself as comfortable as he could while waiting for the portal to be opened from the other side. He was a bit worried, Trish had said that she'd know when he would be back, so why was nothing happening? They were fine, weren't they? She had said she'd keep the portal as shut as possible without actually deactivating it so no demons could come through. If anyone knew about this kind of thing, it'd be her. Right?

Time passed, and for what felt like hours later, Nero could finally see the portal flickering to life. Slowly, very slowly, the dimly glowing rift widened, revealing a colourful vortex that was gradually growing until the distorted shapes of a forest in the human world could be made out. He breathed a relieved sigh before kickstarting the bike into action and drove towards their way back.

Passing through the portal felt like walking through a waterfall that was both scaldingly hot and freezing cold at the same time. All kinds of different colours and indiscernible shapes surrounded him in a seemingly bottomless place and Nero had to suppress a shiver. He glanced over his shoulder to the older hunter, who was... still out of it. If they were in any other position he'd snort at the fact that Dante was able to sleep through an earthquake if he wanted to, but right now it was more worrying than anything else. Only seconds later, however, they reached the end of the portal and passed through, back to the human world.

The bike broke through the distorted surface of the rift and hit the ground. Nero slowly came to a stop, eyes searching for his two female friends and found their eyes full of anxious anticipation, only barely soothed by the fact that Dante was resting at his back. He gave them a smile and nodded, gaze focussing on Trish as she came over, Lady's arm around her neck to help her walk as they came over to him.

"What happened to him? Is he okay?", the blonde demon asked, her tone hushed.

Nero nodded, "As okay as he can be, I guess. We didn't get to talk much, he passed out almost right after I found him and only woke up for a few minutes before actually falling asleep. I don't think he got all that much during his stay there."

All three of them looked at the red-clad hunter who was still out like a light, face void of any emotion, chest rising and falling slowly with each deep breath. The young man hesitated before addressing the two women once more, eyes averted.

"He seemed a bit... out of it when I found him. From what I figure, he went almost crazy when we disappeared, and that trip to hell wasn't really helping matters. Let's just say all of the fighting that we've done before looks like a walk in the park now, compared to what little I know about the shit he's been through."

He saw Trish biting her lip as she looked down at the man she was once supposed to kill. She still looked the same as always, long, blonde hair combed back and reaching her waist. Black leather corset with a lightning shaped motive on the front, black pants. She had two things going for her- one, she was a full demon and therefore had a much higher life expectancy than a normal human, and two, she had been born looking like this. She probably would for hundreds of years, depending on how much effort Mundus had put into her creation.

Lady on her right was an entirely different story. Having had her fourtysecond birthday during the time in the hospital in Russia, the skin on her face wasn't as smooth as it used to be. There were small wrinkles around her mismatched eyes and the corners of her mouth. She spotted countless scars on her body, and even if there wasn't a speck of grey in her hair, Nero knew that it was dyed. He still remembered the day two years ago when Dante had pointed out the first grey hair on her head and had found himself eye to eye with the barrel of a gun less than a second later. What really sold the deal, however, were the various bandages on her body covering the remains of torn muscle and flesh, courtesy of the demons that had captured them.  
Don't get him wrong, despite being a human devil hunter, Lady was still a threat to almost every demon that might be unlucky enough to cross her path. The problem was the part with the _hunting_.

Even though both Nero and Trish had tried to patch her up as much as they could with their very limited resources, and the doctors in the hospital had given all they possibly had, her left knee had still been crushed beyond repair. It was almost a miracle that she had been able to keep her leg, but it was stiff, and even with the prospect of physiotherapeutic exercises, the chances of her being able to bend it more than an inch or two were next to nothing. She was less lucky about her left hand, though. Nero pointedly avoided looking at the bandaged stump and instead put both his hands back on the handle of the motorcycle.

"Let's all just go back, okay?"

Both women nodded and backed off, allowing Nero to start the engine and make his way back to the _Devil May Cry_.

A little over two hours later, he stopped in front of the shop again, the glowing neon sign welcoming him much more than any time before. Dante was still in deep slumber, and if it weren't for his slow, but steady breathing, Nero would have gotten even more worried. From what he figured, however, this was to be expected. He just wondered when his relative would wake up again. Putting all their weaponry back on himself, he picked him up and carried him through the heavy oak doors inside, up the stairs and into the elder's bedroom. There was a fine layer of dust covering every surface of the room, but it looked the same as before otherwise, magazines and clothes scattered everywhere. Putting Dante on the bed, Nero took a moment to let his gaze linger on his friend.

Now that he could really _look_ at him, he noticed how torn and utterly destroyed his clothes were. There were holes and tears everywhere, the trademark coat little more than a tattered piece of leather. Enough blood had drenched the cloth to make it obvious despite the inherent red colouring. Nero wasn't sure he even wanted to know how much of it was Dante's. The black leather strap used to keep _Rebellion_ on his back was gone, too. He looked severely beaten up, which was new. On the other hand, compared to the amount of time the elder had spent in hell, it was only little damage, a testimony to the other's power. With a lingering sigh, Nero removed what was left of Dante's black leather gloves and his knee-high boots, which were in surprisingly good condition.

The sound of an engine dying down in front of the shop tore Nero out of his musing. With one last, unreadable gaze, he turned and headed for the door, but paused to take _Rebellion_ off his back and lean it against the wall next to him.

Placing _Ebony_ and _Ivory_ on the shelf next to him, the young hunter finally left the room. He was halfway down the stairs when the door opened, Trish helping Lady into the room. He went over to the desk, dropping down into the chair behind it, while the women settled on the antique couch. For a while, they all stayed silent, until Trish spoke up.

"You were gone for two weeks, you know."

Nero's eyes widened, but then he shrugged, eyes unfocused and staring straight ahead into nothingness.

"'Time flows differently', huh... I guess that's why it took so long for you to open the gate again when we arrived?"

Looking up, he saw Trish's lips curling into a humourless smile.

"I reopened it right after you were there, can't have been more than a few minutes."

Barking a short, unamused laugh, Nero shook his head and let his gaze flicker to the blonde.

"To you, maybe. Felt like a few hours to me."

Lady listened to their exchange in silence. It was hard for her to openly worry about someone, even if she did on the inside. Neither of the three spoke for a while, each trailing their own thoughts until Nero shook his head once and let out another deep sigh. He looked much older than 26.

"I'll hit the sack, I'm dead tired. You can just make yourselves comfortable around here, you know where the guest room is and shit. Night."

Not even waiting for a reply, Nero heaved himself out of the chair and headed for the chairs. Entering his room, he took _Red Queen_ off his back and stretched. Pulling a face, he noted how sore he was, but it really didn't matter all that much to him right now. Shrugging his coat off, he heel-toed out of his boots before taking up his sword again and returned to Dante's room. The red half-devil hadn't even moved, his breathing still even and deep and features relaxed. Settling down in the red plush chair that looked like it fit much better in a teenage girl's room than a deadly demon hunter's, Nero put _Blue Rose_ on the windowsill next to him. He leant _Red Queen_ against the side of the chair, before making himself as comfortable as possible, gaze never leaving the sleeping form of his friend. He felt exhaustion and tiredness getting the better side of him and it wasn't long until his eyes fell shut, his mind welcoming the soothing darkness.

* * *

Yes, I will end it at this point. Maybe I'll write something about Dante's recovery & what has changed now, but I don't feel like adding it here. This was solely about his journey to hell & Nero saving his arse b̶̶e̶̶c̶̶a̶̶u̶̶s̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶I̶̶'̶̶m̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶i̶̶r̶̶e̶̶d̶̶ ̶̶o̶̶f̶̶ ̶̶s̶̶e̶̶e̶̶i̶̶n̶̶g̶̶ ̶̶N̶̶e̶̶r̶̶o̶̶ ̶̶a̶̶s̶̶ ̶̶t̶̶h̶̶e̶̶ ̶̶d̶̶a̶̶m̶̶s̶̶e̶̶l̶̶ ̶̶i̶̶n̶̶ ̶̶d̶̶i̶̶s̶̶t̶̶r̶̶e̶̶s̶̶s̶̶.̶

Thanks to everyone who read this.


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